No Car Will Be the New Apple Car
After numerous rumored postponements to the vehicle’s intended release, repeated strategy disagreements, large-scale layoffs, and the loss of key team members assigned to the self-driving vehicle project, it appears that Apple is scrapping the idea of building a car entirely.
According to Bloomberg, hundreds of members of Apple’s Project Titan have been laid off, reassigned to other projects, or have outright quit over the last few months. As a result, the initiative has been embarrassingly “refocused” once again.
In 2015, Apple expanded its autonomous vehicle project from 200 people to over a thousand, frequently poaching experts from the automotive and tech sectors. Given the size of the team, it certainly looked like Apple was committed to bringing a car to market. But as deadlines slipped and more employees headed for the exit, that seemed less and less likely.
Now it just isn’t happening. This time around, the refocusing doesn’t include a production — or even prototype — vehicle at all. Instead, Apple has given itself a deadline of late next year to establish a self-driving system and decide the fate of the entire project. So, assuming the project survives at all, Apple will likely be using it to develop technology for existing automakers that may want an autonomous vehicle — Ford for example.
Reports on the issues surrounding the project’s ignominious breakdown highlight inconsistent management. One anonymous source interviewed by Bloomberg even referred to it as “an incredible failure of leadership.”
Bob Mansfield has headed Project Titan since Steve Zadesky’s departure earlier this year, providing oversight as hundreds of hardware engineers working on elements of the physical vehicle were cut from the program — the final nail in the iCar’s coffin. The remaining software engineers will continue progress on autonomous programs, driving sensors, and simulators to test the technology (should it actually be implemented on an actual vehicle). As stated earlier, they have until next year to do so.
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I can't see this new direction lasting long either. Apple famously likes to "make the whole widget", not just the software or partnering with other companies. The iPhone has been far more profitable than its competitors because Apple makes the hardware, the software, and related online services - the entire ecosystem. Android is popular but Google doesn't make much money giving away an operating system that runs mostly on other companies' hardware. Microsoft has reached the same conclusion and is now making tablets and laptops that run Windows. I can't see Apple just providing software to Ford or something; either they'll build the whole car or stay out of the automotive industry.
I heard Woz was admitted for a hernia from laughing all the way to ...